Apparatus and method to elevate an infusion source

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method to elevate an infusion source, the pole of a control unit is increased by about thirty-two (32) cm to increase the height of an infusion bottle attached to a hanger on the pole during ophthalmic surgery including that performed with a phacoemulsification surgical handpiece. The control unit being for irrigation and suction lines that lead to the phacoemulsification surgical handpiece used to conduct eye surgery.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/856,066 filed May 14,1997, U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,016.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pole used to extend the elevation ofan infusion source that provides fluid during eye surgery.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Intravenous poles with hangers are used to hang infusion bottles byhealth care facilities, ambulatory centers, hospitals, nursing homes andphysicians in their offices. The ALCON 20000 LEGACY SERIES is used byphysicians when performing ophthalmic or cataract surgery employing theMACKOOL SYSTEM™ as taught under one or more of the following: U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,026,393; 5,084,009; 5,286,256; 5,354,265, 5,505,693 and5,569,188. Although the ALCON 20000 LEGACY unit has an intravenous poleincorporated or built into its base, the height of the pole is too shortto satisfy the height requirements of the MACKOOL SYSTEM™ and/orprocedures requiring vacuums of 250 mm or more, if the cassette of theunit is positioned at approximately eye level of the patient. For thisreason, a separately standing intravenous pole is used to hang theinfusion bottle at the appropriate height.

The ALCON 20000 LEGACY SERIES apparatus includes a base with a slot intowhich is fitted a cassette containing irrigation and suction lines thatconvey fluid to or from a phacoemulsification handpiece. The eye levelof the patient whose eye is to be operated upon approximatelycorresponds to the elevation of the center of the cassette when thecassette is inserted into the slot. The cassette also contains valves inthe lines to allow the flow rate through the lines to vary as desired byoperating appropriate controls on the base via a foot switch.

The ALCON 20000 LEGACY SERIES also includes a telescoping pole of amaximum seventy-eight (78) cm in height and a hanger attached to thepole on which to hang an infusion bottle. The infusion bottle is hungupside down and is connected to the cassette in the base via a supplyline. Accordingly, the flow rate and pressure of the liquid in theinfusion bottle are limited based on the elevation of the infusionbottle and as regulated by the cassette valves.

The MACKOOL SYSTEM™ recommends placing the infusion bottle at a height,relative to the eye level of the patient, of 60-78 cm for purpose ofavoiding portal occlusion while carrying out deliberate sculpting of theeye so the vacuum pressure being applied is about 20-40 mm Hg. Thebottle height is then raised to 78-110 cm to carry out rapid sculpting(that employs portal occlusion) at about 250 mm Hg vacuum or higher,nucleus impaling at 250-350 mm Hg vacuum during a phaco chop, andnuclear segment removal at 250-350 mm Hg vacuum. Peripheral sculptingsuch as a one handed technique is carried out with the bottle height at60-110 cm and the vacuum at 40-150 mm Hg. In all cases which employ theMACKOOL SYSTEM™ and all phacoemulsification procedures, the flow rate is15 cc/mm, although for nuclear segment removal the flow rate may beincreased up to 35 cc/mm.

In the absence of an apparatus to elevate the infusion bottle of thepresent invention, the MACKOOL SYSTEM™ is used with the ALCON 20000LEGACY SERIES by hanging the infusion bottle to a separate IV pole atthe appropriate height. Some measurement as to placement of the infusionbottle may be required because the exact location of the infusion bottlecorresponding to eye level of the patient is not marked. The separate IVpole may either be at a fixed height or may be adjusted via atelescoping feature such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,957,187issued on Oct. 25, 1960 to Louis Raia entitled "Telescopic Stand", whosecontents are incorporated herein by reference. Aside from thisinconvenience in measurement, the need for a separate intravenous poleis in and of itself a burden on the surgeon or support facility inprocuring it and finding space to place it.

A need exists to perform eye surgery according to the MACKOOL SYSTEM™but without the inconvenience of relying on a separate IV pole toelevate the infusion bottle to the proper height. An increase of 32 cmin elevation increases intraocular pressure applied to irrigate the eyeduring eye surgery to satisfy the vacuum pressure demands of the MACKOOLSYSTEM™. A total of 110 cm is measured from the cassette in the basewhere the irrigation lines emerge (at approximately patient eye level)to the elevation of a stopper in the inverted top of the infusionbottle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to increase the distance betweenan infusion source and eye level of a patient in a position to undergoeye surgery by extending the length of a pole. The infusion source hangsfrom the pole and the pole extends upwardly from an irrigation andsuction line control unit, which controls fluid flow through anophthalmic or phacoemulsification surgical handpiece. By increasing theheight of the pole by 32 cm, the control unit becomes suitable fordelivering a higher infusion pressure to inflate the eye as medicallyrecommended for performing certain eye surgery techniques.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is madeto the following description and accompanying drawings, while the scopeof the invention is set forth in the appended claims.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of an exposed view of a poleadapter in accordance with the invention in position for assemblybetween a conventional hanger and conventional base of a control unitfor irrigation and suction lines for use with a phacoemulsificationhandpiece.

FIG. 2 shows a side elevational view of a conventional control unit forirrigation and suction lines for use with a phacoemulsificationhandpiece with the inserted pole adapter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a pole adapter 10 that is ansuch as a solid body 11 with two opposite ends, one end being female 12,and the other being male 14. The female end 12 has an internal stoppingelement such as an internal ring 16. The internal ring 16 is closer tothe female end 12 than to the male end 14. Such a construction may beformed by boring a solid body at the female end 12 to reach the level ofthe internal ring 16 and then boring the inner diameter of the ring by adistance at least the same as the tip of the male member to be insertedtherein. An aperture 18 is formed through the wall of the solid body 11in the area between the internal ring 16 and the edge of the female end12. The aperture 18 is used to secure the pole to a conventional hanger20, which is used to hang an infusion bottle. The hanger 20 has its ownmale end 22 that is inserted into the female end 12 of the solid body 11and secured together at the aperture 18 with a fastener 23, such as anallen wrench set screw.

The solid body's male end 14 is of a smaller outer diameter than that ofa stepped surface 24 situated between the male end 14 and the rest ofthe solid body 11 and may be formed by shaving off the periphery of thesolid body 11 at the male end 14. A conventional base 28 has its owntelescoping pole having a female connector 26, identical to the femaleopen end 12, and may be secured to the pole adapter 10 after fitting themale end 14 of the solid body 11 into the female connector 26 bytightening a fastener 23, such as an allen wrench set screw through afastening opening in the female connector 26.

Other conventional fastening techniques other than a set screw may beused instead, such as bolts, welds, adhesives, sliding collars, etc. Thesolid body 11 may instead be hollow or tubular. Also, its outer diametermay be smaller than or larger than or the same as that of its ends.While the solid body 11 is shown with a circular outer diameter, it mayof course have any other type of geometric shape instead, such as oval,square, triangular, hexagonal, or any other polygonal shape. Thepreferable construction of the pole adapter is stainless steel, althoughother types of materials which are comparably resistant to inadvertentbreakage will suffice, such as other types of steels, metals, plasticsor wood.

FIG. 2 depicts a conventional control unit for irrigation and suctionlines leading to an ophthalmic or phacoemulsification surgical handpiecewith the inserted pole adapter. In a known manner, thephacoemulsification surgical handpiece 30 is used to provide irrigationto the eye for inflation and to suction out tissue fragments cut byvibratory action imparted against the tissue by the tip of the handpiece30. The control unit is exemplified by the ALCON 20000 LEGACY SERIESapparatus utilizing the MACKOOL SYSTEM™. The pole adapter 10 isconnected at the bottom to a connector (i.e., the female connector 26 ofFIG. 1) of the conventional base 28 and at the top to a conventionalhanger 20. An infusion bottle 32 is hanging, inverted, from theconventional hanger 20. Attached to the infusion bottle 32 is a supplyline 34 which is connected to a cassette 36, from which emergeirrigation and suction lines 38 and 40 that lead to any conventionalphacoemulsification handpiece 30, although preferably of the typesrecommended for use with the MACKOOL SYSTEM™. The cassette 36 interactswith the computer base 42 controlled by the remote control 44 to enablea display on the computer screen with controls/selectors 46 of variousflow characteristics in the irrigation and suction lines 38 and 40.

No matter what choice of construction of extension member(s) thatproject from the base to the hanger, the intent is to encompass theextension member being of a dimension such that a distance of between 79and 140 centimeters is found between the stopper level of the infusionbottle 32, which is hanging from the hanger 20, and the eye level of thepatient, which corresponds to where the irrigation suction lines 38 and40 enter the cassette 36 of the conventional base 28. The extensionmember(s) may be a single piece construction or multiple segments fittedtogether end to end.

The extension member(s) may themselves reach beyond this distancecondition within the range of 79 to 140 centimeters, as long as thehanger is hung at the appropriate level to satisfy this distancecondition. Alternatively, the extension member(s) may be shorterprovided the hanger is of a construction that it raises the infusionbottle to fall within this distance condition. The optimal distancecondition is between 95 and 120 centimeters to provide a sufficientlevel of fluid pressure. Further, the extension member(s) are to besupported by the conventional base 28, as opposed to being a stand aloneunit. In this context, it may extend upwardly from the top of theconventional base 28 or from the sides. The length of the pole adaptor10 is between about 1 cm and about 62 cm.

While the foregoing description and drawings represent the preferredembodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that variouschanges and modifications may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method that elevates an infusion source,comprisingpositioning at least one extension member between a hanger anda base, the hanger holding an infusion source; directing fluid to flowthrough a tubular element from the infusion source to an area of thebase, the infusion source being at an elevation relative to the basesuch that an elevational difference between the infusion source and thearea of the base is sufficient to provide adequate infusion deliveryfrom the infusion source to the area of the base of at least 250 mm Hg.of vacuum; directing fluid under the at least 250 mm Hg. of vacuum toflow through a tubular element from the area of the base through asurgical phacoemulsification handpiece; and imparting vibratory actionwith a tip of the handpiece.
 2. A method as in claim 1, furthercomprising connecting a pole adaptor to a connector, the pole adaptorand the connector constituting the extension members, and arranging theconnector between the pole adaptor and the base.
 3. A method as in claim1, further comprising the step of suctioning fluid and any tissue cut bythe vibratory action through the handpiece.
 4. A method as in claim 1,further comprising arranging a cassette at the area of the base andthrough which the fluid flows.
 5. A method as in claim 1, wherein thestep of positioning provides an elevational difference between theinfusion source and the area of the base of 79 to 140 centimeters.
 6. Amethod as in claim 1, wherein the step of positioning provides anelevational difference between the infusion source and the area of thebase of 95 to 120 centimeters.
 7. An apparatus that elevates an infusionsource, comprisingat least one extension member positioned between ahanger and a base, the hanger holding an infusion source; a tubularelement arranged to direct fluid to flow from the infusion source to anarea of the base, the infusion source being at an elevation relative tothe base such that an elevational difference between the infusion sourceand the area of the base is sufficient to provide adequate infusiondelivery from the infusion source to the area of the base of at least250 mm Hg. of vacuum; a surgical phacoemulsification handpiece having atip configured to impart vibratory action; and a tubular elementarranged to direct fluid under the at least 250 mm Hg. vacuum to flow tothrough the handpiece.
 8. An apparatus as in claim 7, further comprisinga pole adaptor connected to a connector, the pole adaptor and theconnector constituting the extension members, the connector beingarranged between the pole adaptor and the base.
 9. An apparatus as inclaim 7, wherein the handpiece is configured to suction fluid and anytissue cut by the vibratory action through the handpiece.
 10. Anapparatus as in claim 7, further comprising a cassette at the area ofthe base and through which the fluid flows.
 11. An apparatus as in claim7, wherein the at least one extension member is arranged to provide anelevational difference between the infusion source and the area of thebase of 79 to 140 centimeters.
 12. An apparatus as in claim 7, whereinthe at least one extension member is arranged to provide an elevationaldifference between the infusion source and the area of the base of 95 to120 centimeters.